There are many different types of counselling, each based on their own concepts and orientations.

Psychodynamic counselling offers a model for understanding the human personality and how it develops, our network of relationships and how we interact with others, how psychological problems may originate and the repetitive patterns that maintain them, and how personal change takes place.

This part-time, daytime course establishes an understanding of psychoanalytic-based theory and covers the technical processes of counselling, while developing the personal and professional awareness required for effective practice as defined by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

By the end of the course, you will have the ability to work as a psychodynamic counsellor at an appropriate professional standard. You will understand, and know how to use, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic principles to increase knowledge of theory and practice, of personality development, and of the institutional and group influences on personal development.

You will possess high-level skills in thinking psychodynamically about counselling issues, and making professional communications about counselling work, and display a capacity for self-reflection, especially knowledge of your inner world and how it impacts on counselling work, and your role in groups and institutions.

Highlights

Counselling courses have been running at Birkbeck for over 40 years and have built up a reputation among employers for their high quality.

Emphasis on how organisations and groups function, which will enable you to understand and manage professional settings and relationships.

Course structure

Year 1 gives an introduction to psychodynamic theory and practice, teaching observation and basic counselling/psychotherapy skills and processes, and professional/ethical issues.

Years 2 and 3 look in more depth at psychodynamic theory, in particular the contributions of Freud, Klein and Winnicott. Also studied are forms of emotional disturbance, diagnosis and formulation, organisational dynamics, techniques, skills and principles of psychodynamic practice.

You are required to undertake clinical placements in Years 2 and 3 and to be in personal psychodynamic psychotherapy from the end of the first term of Year 1.

Year 3 core rmodules

Entry requirements

Second-class honours degree in any subject or an equivalent professional qualification; non-graduates with academic and professional experience will be considered.

Work that includes a counselling/psychotherapy component.

Prior completion of a counselling/psychotherapy course at Certificate of Higher Education level or equivalent.

International entry requirements

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 7.0, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

Visa requirements

If you are not from the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa.

The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

Courses of more than six months’ duration.

Courses of less than six months’ duration.

Pre-sessional English language courses.

International students who require a Tier 4 visa should apply for our three-year evening study BA/BSc/LLB degrees, as these are classified as full-time study and qualify for student visa status. If you are living in the UK on a Tier 4 visa, you will not be eligible to enrol as a student on Birkbeck’s part-time evening study degrees.

Credits and Accredited Prior Learning (APL)

If you have studied at university previously, you may have accumulated credits through the modules you studied.
It may be possible to transfer these credits from your previous study to Birkbeck or another institution.
You should discuss this with the Programme Director when you are making your application.

Fees

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their programme. Tuition fees for students continuing on their programme in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the College Fees Policy.

On this programme, you will also have to pay for the following additional costs:

Students must be seeing a personal therapist at least once a week for the duration of this course. You will need to find your own therapist, although the course tutors can help you with this, and you will have to fund your therapy yourself. The cost of therapy can vary widely, depending on location, availability and income, but you should expect to pay £25-£60 per therapy session.

Teaching

At Birkbeck, almost all of our courses are taught in the evening and our teaching is designed to support students
who are juggling evening study with work and other daytime commitments. We actively encourage innovative and
engaging ways of teaching, to ensure our students have the best learning experience. In the 2017 Teaching
Excellence Framework (TEF), the government’s system for rating university teaching, Birkbeck was allocated a
Silver award.

Teaching may include formal lectures, seminars, and practical classes and tutorials. Formal lectures are used in
most degree programmes to give an overview of a particular field of study. They aim to provide the stimulus and
the starting point for deeper exploration of the subject during your own personal reading. Seminars give you the
chance to explore a specific aspect of your subject in depth and to discuss and exchange ideas with fellow
students. They typically require preparatory study.

Our distance-learning and blended-learning courses and modules are self-directed and we will provide you with
interactive learning opportunities and encourage you to collaborate and engage via various learning technologies.
These courses involve limited or no face-to-face contact between students and module tutors.

In addition, you will have access to pastoral support via a named Personal Tutor.

Methods of teaching on this course

Seminars, work and case discussion group, practice exercises, experiential groups. In Years 2 and 3, week-long studies of how organisations function.

Contact hours

On our taught courses, you will have scheduled teaching and study sessions each year. Alongside this, you will
also undertake assessment activities and independent learning outside of class. Depending on the modules you take,
you may also have additional scheduled academic activities, such as tutorials, dissertation supervision, practical
classes, visits and fieldtrips.

On our taught courses, the actual amount of time you spend in the classroom and in contact with your lecturers will
depend on your course, the option modules you select and when you undertake your final-year project.

On our distance-learning and blended-learning courses, discussion, collaboration and interaction with your lecturers
and fellow students are encouraged and enabled through various learning technologies, but you may have limited or
no face-to-face contact with your module tutors.

Timetables

Timetables are usually available from September onwards and you can access your personalised timetable via your
My Birkbeck Profile online (if you have been invited to enrol).

Indicative class size

Class sizes vary, depending on your course, the module you are undertaking, and the method of teaching.
For example, lectures are presented to larger groups, whereas seminars usually consist of small,
interactive groups led by a tutor.

Independent learning

On our taught courses, much of your time outside of class will be spent on self-directed, independent learning,
including preparing for classes and following up afterwards. This will usually include, but is not limited to,
reading books and journal articles, undertaking research, working on coursework and assignments, and preparing
for presentations and assessments.

Independent learning is absolutely vital to your success as a student. Everyone is different, and the study time
required varies topic by topic, but, as a guide, expect to schedule up to five hours of self-study for each hour
of teaching.

On our distance-learning and blended-learning courses, the emphasis is very much on independent, self-directed
learning and you will be expected to manage your own learning, with the support of your module tutors and various
learning technologies.

Study skills and additional support

Birkbeck offers study and learning support to undergraduate and postgraduate students to help them succeed.
Our Learning Development Service can
help you in the following areas:

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of your university studies and usually consists of a combination of coursework and
examinations, although this will vary from course to course - on some of our courses, assessment is entirely by
coursework. The methods of assessment on this course are specified below under 'Methods of assessment on this
course'. You will need to allow time to complete coursework and prepare for exams.

Where a course has unseen written examinations, these may be held termly, but, on the majority of our courses,
exams are usually taken in the Summer term, during May to June. Exams may be held at other times of the year as
well. In most cases, exams are held during the day on a weekday - if you have daytime commitments, you will need
to make arrangements for daytime attendance - but some exams are held in the evening. Exam timetables are
published online.

Careers and employability

Graduates can pursue a career in counselling, human resources, or education. Possible professions include counsellor, psychotherapist, or careers adviser. Some graduates remain in their current posts with enhanced competence. This degree can also be useful in becoming a human resources officer or market researcher. Read about how you can become a professional counsellor or psychotherapist.

We offer a comprehensive Careers and Employability Service to help you advance your career, while our in-house, professional recruitment consultancy, Birkbeck Talent, works with London’s top employers to help you gain work experience that fits in with your evening studies.

How to apply

You apply directly to Birkbeck for this course, using the online application link.

In order for your application to be considered for this course, you must include full details of each of the following points in your supporting statement. Failure to include any one of them may lead to your application being rejected.

1. Present employment

Please include your job title, employer and describe the nature of your work, including details of responsibility and extent of counselling/therapy commitment. If your clinical work is outside your main job, please describe the place, nature and extent of this.

2. Previous experience of working as a counsellor/therapist, or of related or relevant voluntary work.

3. Professional or personal activities or interests which support your application.

4. Counselling/therapy training, or other relevant professional training already completed.

Please give dates, length of course, and indicate how much of the teaching was psychodynamic.

5. Experience of personal therapy or counselling

Please give name(s) of therapist(s)/counsellor(s), dates of starting and finishing, frequency, orientation and professional affiliation of therapist (if known).

6. Please indicate how familiar you are with a psychodynamic approach.

7. Please add any information about your personal history, experience, interest in counselling and career plans which you consider relevant to your application.

8. Please indicate whether you are making an application to another Birkbeck course, or to any other course. Please give details.